MORE NEWS, 9-10: THE IMPORTANCE OF VAN JONES; A HALF MILLION JOBS FROM THE ENERGY/CLIMATE BILL; BEST BUY IN NEW ENERGY; NO NEED FOR NEW COAL

THE IMPORTANCE OF VAN JONES
First they came for Van Jones, green jobs are next
Sue Sturgis, September 9, 2009 (Facing South/Institute for Southern Studies)

[Sue Sturgis' insightful essay is so worthwhile NewEnergyNews is re-posting it from its original Facing South site verbatim in hopes of extending its readership. Only illustrations are added.]

National green jobs advisor Van Jones resigned from the Obama administration over the weekend following attacks by conservative commentators and politicians over controversial statements and actions in his past.

A Tennessee native, Yale Law School graduate and best-selling author who helped found the justice advocacy groups Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change and the energy justice group Green for All, Jones came under fire for his previous involvement with the radical Bay Area group Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), for advocating on behalf of controversial death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, and for signing a statement calling for attention to 'unanswered questions' suggesting Bush administration insiders may have allowed 9/11 to happen, 'perhaps as a pretext to war.' Jones was also blasted for calling Republicans 'a--holes.'

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But regardless of what role the Obama administration played in Jones' departure, the fact that the controversy occurred has implications for the current debate over the nation's energy future. That's because a leader of Americans for Prosperity [AFP], a pro-polluter lobby, has already seized on Jones' resignation to advance its agenda -- opining that "the Van Jones affair could be an important turning point in the Obama administration."

AFP is a corporate-funded advocacy group that has been fighting health insurance reform by organizing disruptive protests at public meetings. It's also long worked to stymie efforts to address greenhouse gas pollution. The group's chair is David Koch of Koch Industries, the nation's largest privately held oil company and a major supporter of advocacy groups promoting corporate interests.

Van Jones explains the new ethic, the new commitment and the new math to Vice President Biden. This incredible talk is well worth 9 minutes of your time: “We save the soul of America when we connect people to opportunity.” It's easy to see why the President hired him. From gotSelena via YouTube.

This weekend, AFP Policy Director Phil Kerpen wrote a piece titled "How Van Jones Happened and What We Need to Do Next" for Fox News:

"Now that Jones has resigned, we need to follow through with two critical policy victories. First, stop cap-and-trade, which could send these green groups trillions, and second repeal the unspent portion of the stimulus bill, which stands to give them billions. The Van Jones affair is, as President Obama likes to say, a 'teachable moment,' and we need to put not just him but the whole corrupt 'green jobs' concept outside the bounds of the political mainstream."

Kerken refers to the cap-and-trade legislation to reduce greenhouse gas pollution that's now being considered in Congress as a 'watermelon' -- 'green on the outside but Communist red to the core.' He also attacks green jobs as 'political jobs, designed to funnel vast sums of taxpayer money to left-wing labor unions, environmental groups, and social justice community organizers.'

It's clear that progressives will have to step up their support for climate legislation currently under consideration in Congress if it's to stand any chance of passage. To that end, Green for All -- which calls Jones' resignation a 'disappointment' -- has launched a petition asking people to 'Stand with the Green Jobs Movement.'


A HALF MILLION JOBS FROM THE ENERGY/CLIMATE BILL
Energy Efficiency Improvements To Waxman-Markey Could Create 569,000 Jobs, Save Households $283 Annually In Ten Years
Steve Nadel and Rachel Gold, September 9, 2009 (American Coalition for an Energy Efficient Economy)

"Energy efficiency provisions in the American Clean Energy Security Act (ACES — H.R. 2454) with improvements could create more than 569,00 new jobs nationwide in the next ten years and provide $283 in annual savings for every household in America, according to [an American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) study]…By 2030, these benefits could increase to more than one million jobs and $832 in annual savings per household — all while reducing government-projected levels of nationwide carbon emissions by 15 percent, or 959 million metric tons.

["...Energy Efficiency in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009: Impacts of Current Provisions and Opportunities to Enhance the Legislation] underscores the energy efficiency potential — and accompanying benefits — still available as the Senate considers energy and climate legislation. In fact, the examined improvements would result in 48 percent more jobs and 32 percent more consumer savings than the 383,800 jobs and $215 in annual household savings in 2020 than the energy efficiency provisions of ACES, the original House bill, would provide…"

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"These improvements would bring economic and environmental benefits to every state in the country. State results of the ACEEE study were released at over forty-five nationwide events organized by Environment America and a broad network of businesses, faith and community leaders, and clean energy advocates…"

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"Improvements to ACES considered in ACEEE’s analysis are…Strengthening the Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS) that sets a 10% energy savings goal for electric utility companies. (ACES includes a 5% EERS with an optional 3% increase.)…Requiring one-third of the electric utility allowances to be used for energy efficiency improvements as are the natural gas allowances in ACES…[and]…Extending the allocation of 9.5% of carbon allowance revenue to the State Energy and Environmental Development (SEED) fund to 2030. (ACES ramps down SEED fund spending beginning in 2016.) …

"While this study did not consider the impact on consumers of the cap-and-trade provisions in ACES, the annual household consumer savings from the energy efficiency provisions analyzed in the study would more than offset EPA’s projected consumer cost of the cap-and-trade provisions in ACES, bringing net savings to Americans…"


BEST BUY IN NEW ENERGY
Earth Talk: Compare costs of alternative energy; Is it better to go with your utility's renewable power option or install your own solar or wind power?
Editors of E Magazine, September 8, 2009 (Christian Science Monitor)

[Randy Wilson, Flagstaff, AZ:] "I’d like to know the relative electricity cost of utility-scale solar and wind plants versus rooftop residential solar. In other words, how can I know whether to subsidize my utility’s alternative energy plant or renovate my own home?"

[Editors of E Magazine:] "…[S]tart with In My Backyard, a new online tool by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory…[With] your electricity usage…what size solar photovoltaic (PV) system or wind turbine you could install…[and] Google Earth maps and data…the tool will estimate the electricity you could get…[Costs for] renewable energy systems vary greatly by location…And kilowatt-hour costs vary by utility, as do state and local financial incentives…[But the] federal investment tax credit allows for 30 percent of the cost of your system to be deducted from your federal tax bill…through 2016."

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"Comparing [that] cost…with that of buying green power through your utility isn’t a simple equation. You can support your utility’s renewable power infrastructure by paying a premium on your electric bill, or you can buy renewable energy certificates – also known as green tags – even if your utility doesn’t offer green power (green tags inject renewable energies into the grid even if they don’t come back to you via your own utility).

"Compare the costs of those programs over the same time period with the cost of building and maintaining your own system (minus any installation credits and/or revenues from selling your excess electricity back to the utility). That gives you the relative costs and return on investment."

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"Another question is whether your home system can continue to produce energy more cost-effectively than your utility, as it brings more green energy sources into its mix…A February 2009 [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab] report summarizing the costs of PV from 1998 to 2007 concluded that larger systems averaged a 25 percent lower cost than the smallest ones…[The American Wind Energy Association] February 2005 report calculates that a large wind farm can deliver electricity at nearly 40 percent less than a small one.

"The bottom line: Today, with renewable energy sources coming online or about to do so in quantum-leap measures – and at much greater efficiencies than can be achieved privately – the best way may well be to forgo the go-it-alone path and support your utility’s efforts to generate green power not just for your own household but for everyone."


NO NEED FOR NEW COAL
Study casts doubt on need for coal-fired generator
Kathleen Gray. September 8, 2009 (Detroit Free Press)

"Because of energy efficiency initiatives and the increased use of renewable energy sources to create power, Consumers Energy won’t need a new coal plant until at least 2022…

"The [Michigan Public Service Commission staff] report to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality deals a blow to Consumers’ plans to build an 830-megawatt coal-fired plant near Bay City. The Michigan DEQ has the job of deciding whether to grant an air quality permit to Consumers to build the plant…"

Coal use is down, natural gas use is down and nuclear is down. Only New Energy is up. With efficiency increasing, there is no need for new greenhouse gas emissions. (click to enlarge)

"Environmentalists, who have been steadfastly opposed to the Bay City plant, hailed the report…

"Consumers had hoped to build the $2-billion plant and have it in production by 2017. The DEQ is expected to make a decision on the air quality permit by the end of this year."